The recovery of petroleum products from subterranean reservoirs often involves the drilling of deep wells that extend from the surface to producing geologic formations. Modern wells are typically drilled using high-powered drilling rigs that penetrate through rock with rotating drill bits attached to a drill string. Once the drilling rig has completed some or all of its drilling operation, the resulting borehole is often lined with a metal casing. The casing prevents the deterioration of the borehole and controls the passage of fluids in and out of the well. A cementing operation secures the casing within the wellbore.
During the drilling or casing operation, there is a risk that the casing or drill string will become stuck in the well. The drill string or casing may become stuck due to a number of factors, including deviations in the borehole, operator error, partial collapse of the borehole or as a result of differential pressures and friction acting on the borehole and the tubular. The filter cake that forms along the inside of the wellbore may contribute to the stuck tubular.
There are a number of techniques practiced today for freeing a stuck tubular. These techniques include the use of vibration-inducing equipment or through the injection of spotting fluids at the level of the sticking point. If the remedial measures fail, it may become necessary to cut the tubular above the sticking point to maximize the recovery of the tubular from the well. For each of these remedial measures, it is important to accurately determine the location of the sticking point within the wellbore. Prevailing methods for determining where the sticking point is located include the use of complicated and expensive electromechanical instruments. There is, therefore, an ongoing need for an improved device and process for identifying the location of the binding point of a stuck tubular. It is to this and other objects that the presently preferred embodiments are directed.